


Sea Green (Percico Merman AU)

by darkreader1108



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Merman!Percy, Ocean, Percico - Freeform, PercyxNico - Freeform, jacksangelo, mermanpercico, pernico - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-21 18:12:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9560918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkreader1108/pseuds/darkreader1108
Summary: When Nico finds a merman on the beach with a bleeding arm, he brings him in to live in his bathtub until he could swim again.Percico Merman au. Characters are not mine. I take characters being in character very seriously, but this is an AU so their situations and lives are different, resulting in slightly different personalities. But I will be trying my best.





	1. Chapter 1

Music played through the speakers of Nico's phone as he flipped through a graphic novel. A warm summer breeze flew through the open window of his bedroom. Nico would've just listened to the waves, but he needed something to block out the screaming kids.

His door opened, he looked up at his older sister. "Come on, we're going out. Persephone needs to get some stuff from the store," Bianca said.

"I don't want to go," Nico replied in a bored tone. He wasn't in the mood to leave the house, he planned to lay on his bed and relax for the whole day. School just ended a few days ago and he wanted to start the summer off right.

"Oh come on Nico." Hazel was younger than Nico by a year. While Nico and Bianca were born through their mother Maria (who died 10 years ago), Hazel was adopted after their father remarried to Persephone.

Nico loved Hazel, it was hard to believe she has only been a part of the family for two years.

"Sorry, I don't feel like it. You guys have fun."

Hazel looked disappointed while Bianca just rolled her eyes. "Are you going to leave the house at all?"

Nico shrugged, "I might go to the beach if you ask nicely."

Bianca raised an eyebrow, "or I could get Will up here to drag you out."

Will Solace was Nico's best friend. Will had a way of making Nico do anything he didn't want to do. Nico sighed, "I'll leave the house tomorrow, okay?"

Bianca didn't look satisfied, but she and Hazel left anyway.

Nico closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The usual smell of salt water filled lungs. He would go to the beach... after his family left. But not just the beach. His favorite place in the whole world- a place by the current where no one goes off due to the rocks.

Nico loves that place because it's quiet, no sound of people, just the waves hitting the slabs of rock.

After Nico finished the last few pages of his comic book, he slathered on a coat of sunscreen. Will always joked about how he was the whitest person in California. Nico was pale, which made little sense due to his Italian heritage.

Nico walked down stairs and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before going outside.

The Di Angelos live on the beach, meaning you walk out the front door and see soft white sand at your feet. Nico hated living in a place full of people taking a vacation, but it also had its advantages.

He looked around for anyone he knew, Will, Jason, Reyna, but saw no one. Exhaling, Nico made his way to the rocky cliff.

The sun was blaring and the waves were as blue as the sky. It was a beautiful day, a nice way to start the summer. The cliff was about 50 feet from his house, far enough on the left side of the beach for people to not come over as often.

Nico climbed over the rocks to a big flat one half way down. There were another three feet of rock until you get to the water. The waves were crashing roughly against the rocks like it was trying to pull them with it.

Nico dropped his water bottle, he sighed loudly as he picked it up. Before he sat down, a flash of movement caught his eye. Green, bright green, glimmering in the sun by the water. But it was gone before he could see any more.

Nico craned his neck but didn't see anything. He blinked, then shrugged it off. He sat down on the rock and laid back. His eyes were closed against the sun, he could hear the water becoming more restless, desperate even. It crashed against the land harder each time. A weird pattern Nico never heard before.

He then heard a smack, then a groan of pain. Nico opened his eyes and looked down at the waves. A large, green fish tail was laying on the rock. Nico was shocked by the size of it. What fish would have a three-foot tail?

The tail moved, violently. Nico quickly made his way down the rocky path. But the closer he would get, the more desperate the fish would move.

Nico jumped on the rock and froze. It wasn't a fish. It was a boy. A scared boy. He was panting hard and clutching his arm, which seemed to be bleeding.

Nico opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes drifted to the boy's middle, where the human skin met the fish scales and couldn't make a sound.

"Stay away from me!" the boy said in a voice carved in stone by fear. Nico swallowed, then said, "you're hurt."

The boy narrowed his eyes, "so? I can take care of it." Nico looked at the blood leaking through the boy's fingers. He had a first aid kit and knew how to fix it. He absentmindedly made a step forward. The fish-boy flinched and tried to pull himself away.

Nico stepped back, "okay, okay. I won't hurt you. Let me fix your arm."

The boy looked at the water like it was going to rescue him. "No. Don't touch me."

Nico was looking for a way to help him. But the water wasn't able to crash up far enough to get him. Even if it was, even if Nico was able to drag the boy to the water, he still wouldn't be able to swim the way he was.

After looking closer, Nico saw that not only his arm was cut, but the side of his tail was also scraped, badly. Nico guessed the waves crashed him into the rocks.

"What can I do to get you to trust me? You will die here if I don't help you." Nico said, loud enough to be heard over the waves. The boy glared.

"What makes you think you can help me? You humans know nothing of my kind."

Nico bit his tongue. That was true, he didn't know anything about the creature-boy. His best guess would be a mermaid, and he didn't know they existed.

"I'll figure it out. Please, let me help you."

The boy seemed to think about it, but just for a second before making another pathetic attempt at pulling himself up. "No, I can do this myself. I'm not weak."

The boy coughed and looked at the water again with longing. Nico guessed what he needed and uncapped his water bottle. The boy watched him with wide, cautious eyes as Nico got as close as he dared before pouring the water out on the boy.

He shivered, "that's cold." Nico placed the cap back on, "sorry. Are you thirsty? Or can you drink fresh water?"

Thy boy straightened, "I can drink fresh water, but not a lot." This gave Nico a bit more confidence in the idea growing in the back of his mind.

"Just help me get back to the sea, I can do it from there." the boy said in a pleading tone.

Nico slowly made his way to the boy. His black hair was damp like he'd been out of the water for a while. That worried Nico. He didn't want the boy to die, when you find out mermaids exist that's the last thing you want to happen. 

"I'm gonna wrap my arms around you and drag you to the water, okay?" Nico asked quietly from behind the boy's ear. He nodded but didn't seem enthusiastic about it.

Nico looped his forearms under the boy and pulled. The boy hissed in pain, "stop! My tail is bleeding." Nico looked over the top of his head to see the scrape bleeding through the mangled scales and dirt.

"What happened?" Nico asked finally. The boy touched it and whimpered. "I was trying to get away from the crazy psychos with the boards and boats, but the current got out of control and knocked me into the rocks." He moved his hand off his arm to look at it. It was a gash, bloody and looked painful.

"You can't swim like that," Nico said softly, still careful not to scare the boy.

"I..." he looked sad and hurt. Nico decided to pitch the idea- "you can come with me. I can fix it and you can stay in my bathtub for the night."

The boy looked horrified, but curious, "what's a bathtub?" Nico wasn't prepared to answer that question, he didn't know how to explain what I bathtub was.

"It's... like a small ocean. It has water in it. Do you need sea water? Or would any water do?"

The boy frowned, "I didn't say I'd go with you." Nico's hope fell a little. "What are you going to do? Sit here? You can't swim and you're hurt. You can come with me and be in water and rest and I can fix your arm and tail. No one will know you are there and I'll bring you back tomorrow." Nico was talking fast, listing all the reasons he should come with him.

Even though Nico didn't know what he would do with a mermaid-boy, he still wanted to help.

The boy looked at the ocean again, then sighed. "Fine. But don't tell anyone I'm there and don't do anything I don't like. I don't trust you, but I don't seem to have many options."

"Deal," Nico said. His mind started figuring out what to do. He still had at least an hour until his family came back, and he had his own bathroom in his room. One night wouldn't be bad.

"Okay, now we have to get you to my house."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2

Getting the boy to Nico's house was very difficult. He weighed about 150 pounds and had a scraped tail. He was also a mermaid, meaning Nico had to keep him out of the public eye. "What is that?" The boy asked with slight horror. "It's the bathtub," Nico said. Nico turned the water on filling the tub with what he considered cool water resembling the ocean.  
"I could go get you some sea water if you want it," Nico offered. The boy had a melancholy expression when he said, "I would like that." Nico made a plan to go down to the water later that day with a bucket to fill with seawater. He wanted the fish boy to be as comfortable as possible. Nico couldn't imagine how he must feel, being pulled away from his home and family to live with humans...with an injury leaving you vulnerable. He wondered what kind of horror stories the boy had heard, the things humans do to newly discovered creatures.

The boy looked at the water longingly. After the tub was filled Nico carefully helped the boy into the tub. "I can fix the temperature if you want," Nico offered. 

"No no it's fine thank you. Do you live in this?" The boy looked around the tub and poked at the bar soap.

"No, we fill it with water and sit in it," Nico explained. The boy looked confused, and maybe a little disturbed, but splashed in it anyways. Water hit the floor making a small puddle. "You have to be careful. Water splashes out very easily and it can damage the floor," Nico said and mopped it up with a towel.

"Didn't you say that you could help me with my cut?" The boy asked after Nico mopped up his mess.

"Oh right sorry." Nico grabbed the first aid kit out of the cabinet over the sink. Their stepmother made them keep one in their rooms, stocked with everything they might need just in case.

"This might sting a little, but just stay still and it'll better," Nico said and got the can of germ spray. The boy looked at him with distrust immediately.

"You said you wouldn't hurt me!" he accused, his temper rising with his voice.

"I'm not. I'm trying to help but you need to kill the germs inside it so it won't get infected. Nico backed off just to give the boy some space. He didn't want to scare him anymore, but he also knew he needed to stop the bleeding. "It'll only sting a little. But it will kill the bacteria to help it heal."

The boy looked at his arm again. "Fine," he muttered after a while. "But it better help."

Nico nodded, "it will. I've used this stuff before a lot, it's worth it."

Nico slowly crouched down by the tub. He hesitated before carefully grabbing the boy's arm. The boy hissed as Nico sprayed his cut and yanked away. "It'll stop in a few seconds," Nico said, "and then we can bandage it."

The boy looked at his arm, his facial expression slowly relaxed into a puzzled frown. This was the first time Nico was allowed to get this close without the boy freaking out. He took the time to study his face.

His features were handsome, from his sea green eyes to his pale pink lips. He was lean muscle built, with the outline of abs and strong thin arms. Nico stared at the boy longer than he planned to.

"What are you looking at?" The boy asked. Nico snapped up to meet his questionable gaze. "Nothing. What's your name?"

"Percy Jackson." He said as he rested his arm on the side of the tub. Nico got the gauze and bandage. "Nice to meet you. Hand me your arm again. I promise this part won't hurt."  
Percy allowed Nico to fix up his arm. His tail was something Nico couldn't do much about. It wasn't like Percy would let him spray it.

"Are there more of you?" Nico asked. Percy looked at him like he was stupid. "Of course there are more of us. Where would I have come from? A crab?" Nico felt like an idiot, but also annoyed. How was he supposed to know? Mermaids weren't supposed to exist in the first place.

"So you have houses under water?" Nico imagined Atlantis from Spongebob, but it obviously wouldn't look like that. "No, well, kind of." Percy said, "My family lives in a palace. But the others live in caves or houses they build out of sea stone."

The look on Nico's face seemingly made Percy go back and clarify. "My dad is Poseidon, the "god" of the ocean. He's not a real god though. More like a king, but that's too cheesy." Nico was more confused than anything. "So, you're royalty?"

"Kinda yeah. But I still have a long time before I take my dad's place. Don't worry, you don't have to kiss my tail fins or anything."

Nico didn't know how to respond to that, so he didn't. Instead, Percy started asking his own questions. "How do you use those things?" he asked, looking at Nico's feet.

"Um, I walk on them." Percy frowned, "Can I touch it? I've always wanted feet."

Nico raised his eyebrows but cautiously set his foot on the side of the tub. Percy grabbed it and pulled to get a closer look, Nico had to grip the toilet seat in order to not fall on the floor.

"It's so weird," Percy said. "You have baby fingers on them." Nico almost laughed, but then Percy smelled of it, which was too strange to laugh at. Percy's eyes traveled up Nico's leg, "you have nice legs. I wish I had some."

Nico's cheeks turned hot, "thanks."

Percy gave Nico his foot back. "Um I'll get you some sea water." Nico slowly got up, "will you be okay for a few minutes?" Percy nodded slowly, he looked around the bathtub at all the things Nico had around. "Just don't make a mess." Nico ran out of the bathroom and grabbed a pale for the water. 

Having a few minutes to think meant his brain went on overload. How would he take care of a mermaid? How would he keep this from his family? 

He had his own bathroom, so as long as no one walked in, and Percy was very quiet, it might work until he gets better. But what do fish people eat? Would his family miss him? If his dad really is a king, then wouldn't he send some sharks or something to eat him for capturing his son? He was only trying to help... but would "Poseidon" believe that?

Nico was only gone for five minutes at most, but when he came back into the bathroom Percy had already soaked the floor and pulled the shower curtain off the wall, rod and all.

"What did you do?!" Nico exclaimed. He grabbed some towels. "I made room for the new water," Percy said like he didn't do anything wrong. "And that thing just fell off." He pointed at the curtain.

Nico sighed, "okay look, I don't live alone. My family will be back soon so you have to be quiet and clean. Please try not to break anything else."

"I'm sorry. All I did was pull it. I didn't mean to break it. And this is a small space, my tail needs some room." Percy moved his tail as to prove it. The bathtub was too small for him, and Nico felt bad about it. It was his idea to cramp him, with a lack of a better option. 

"Sadly I can't do anything about that. When your arm heals you can go back to the ocean. Luckily this can be put back up there," Nico said as he picked up the curtain rod. 

"Here's your water, will it be enough until tomorrow?" Nico poured the water into the bathtub. Percy smiled, "yes. thank you," Nico mopped up the water for the second time since Percy had first entered the bathroom.

"Nico! we're back! Come help with dinner!" Persephone yelled up. Nico dropped the wet towels in the hamper. "Stay in here and don't make a noise. I'll bring you some food later. What do you eat?"

"A lot of things, seaweed, shellfish, coral-"

"Anything I can get now?"

"Hmm, do you eat fish? I've seen humans hunt them too. By the way, not a fan of hooks." 

Nico nodded, "I can get you some fish, we're supposed to be eating some tonight actually." Persephone called again, and Nico carefully closed the door behind him to head downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long. Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3

While Persephone was distracted, Nico took some raw fish in a bag to place in the refrigerator. He was too nervous with his family home to relax. Maybe he was just overreacting because his family was understanding, but he also didn't want to take any chances. Besides, he promised the fish boy he would never tell anyone he was there. Nico’s first mission was to build trust with Percy. 

“Are you okay Nico?” his father asked from across the dinner table. Nico had been in a fog of thought the whole time. He straightened in his chair, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.” Hades narrowed his dark eyes at his son. “You haven't touched your food.” Nico rolled his eyes and stabbed a carrot with his fork. “Where did you guys go today? You were out longer than I expected.” 

“Well,” Persephone started. “We went to the grocery store, then your dad wanted to stop at the antique shop. Apparently, he doesn’t think he has enough junk.” She looked at Hades accusingly, and he shrugged his shoulders. “What? What’s wrong with going to the antique shop? People just throw stuff in there for years and you never know what you can find.” Nico thought of their basement. It was like a river of junk his dad had collected from flea markets, pawn shops and antique stores. He could understand his father’s fascination, in fact Nico has been hoping he would bring home something hunted for broadcasting in the living room so people would stop coming over. 

“I like going to the antique shop. I found a new old coin today.” Hazel collected old coins and jewels. Fake or not, she would put it in one of her glass bowls in her room. Nico thought her room looked like a place for a psychic to hold her readings. 

Nico shoveled the rest of his food in his mouth. He feared if he left Percy alone for too long he might flood the bathroom. “I’m done. Great dinner. Thank you.” Nico grabbed the bag out of the fridge, stuffed it in his pocket, and walked upstairs. 

He sighed as he entered his room. He had to act as natural as possible around his family. Bianca watched him with the over-protective-big-sister attitude that always pointed out his secrets. Hiding something this big...Nico wondered how he would do it. 

Before he reached his bathroom door, he heard Percy talking inside. His heart jumped at the thought of someone finding him, but everyone else was downstairs. Nico pressed his ear against the door, praying Percy wouldn’t find out somehow that he was eavesdropping.

"No, I'm fine. I hit the rocks and a human wanted to help me. He seems nice, he doesn't want to do any harm to me, I can sense it."  
A pause, followed by- "I know, but I still got hurt and he wanted to help. I'm in his water thing." Nico stopped breathing and focused, but still couldn’t hear the second voice.

"I'll be home soon, I can't swim like this.... Of course, I'll be careful... how is mom?... *sigh* tell her I'm old enough not to get myself killed. I trust him. He has a good aura."  
Nico frowned, mermaids can judge an aura? What is an aura? He hoped they couldn't read minds as well. His cheeks burned at the idea of Percy knowing his thoughts on him. 

"Dad, I'll call you if I have any trouble I promise. I need to go, Nico will be back soon... bye."  
Nico heard one last sigh before some movement in the water. He slowly turned the knob and walked in. “Hey, I got you some food. I hope you like catfish, it’s Bianca’s favorite so we have it often.”

Percy bit off the fish flesh and smiled, “it’s great. A little stale though.” He took another bite, and Nico sat slowly on the toilet lid to watch him. “So what were you doing for the past hour?”

Percy grabbed a little rubber duck off the side of the tub. “Playing with this. It reminds me of Berry, a dolphin I know. He squeaks and squirts water too.” Percy started playing with the duck while eating his fish with his other hand.

Nico tried not to think about the conversation he just heard. It wasn’t like he could ask about it, that would give his eavesdropping away. He just hoped the merman wasn’t nuts. 

“Well I'm about to go to bed, do you need anything?" Nico stood and swiped a towel over a small water puddle on the floor. Percy shook his head, "I'm fine."

"How's your arm? Does it still hurt?" Again, Percy just shook his head. Nico frowned, "are you okay?"  
"I'm fine. Just... homesick." Percy shrugged his shoulders like it didn't matter much. Nico felt bad for him. “You’ll be home soon.” 

….

Nico crawled into bed and finally looked at his phone. He missed text messages from Will and Renya, and one from Jason. He replied with “sorry, busy day. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Someone was bound to drag him out of the house soon. Staying in during the summer had gotten impossible over the years since he took up some friends. Will Solace stuck to him like a mole you didn't really want to get rid of. He was a great friend, they helped each other through a lot. Reyna would just make him feel guilty. In fact, Nico had start to wonder if she faked a lot of it just to make him cave. Jason gave him space, thank the gods, but he still cared. Throwing Binaca in the mix, Nico could never win. 

He tossed and turned for a while, listening to the water in the bathroom for any movement until he drifted into a dream of giant fish and an attractive boy who lived in the waves.  
...

The next morning, Nico awoke early and stumbled towards his bathroom. The possibility of everything that had happened the day before being a dream was slim, and the proof came with the sight of the merman in his tub. 

“Good morning, nice hair.” Percy gestured to Nico's bedhead hair. Immediately embarrassed for not fixing it first, Nico smiled sarcastically, “nice smell.” 

It came without saying that Percy’s bath water would have to be cleaned daily, something Nico wasn’t looking forward to dealing with. "That’s pretty rich coming from a human.”   
Nico ignored the jab. 

“Did you know you can close this thing over the edge, then no water would get on the floor. It would just fall right back into the tub!" Percy pulled the shower curtain over the tub side to demonstrate his discovery. “Yes. Do you want some breakfast?” Nico asked as he drained and refilled the bathtub. “Please? You sleep forever.” 

“I’ll check for any seafood in the kitchen. Remember to be quiet, I have sisters.” Nico closed the bathroom door behind him. His plan was to find some food for Percy, then bring his own bowl of cereal up to eat in his room. However, Bianca was already at the table when he got there. 

“Hey, you gonna leave the house today willingly or do I have to call in reinforcements?” Bianca asked through a mouthful of toast. Nico sighed as he eyed the contents of the fridge. “Why exactly do you care so much about me going out?” There was a container of leftover shrimp from a few nights ago on the third shelf. He grabbed it and the milk.

“Because I want to see you around people. You have some great friends and they want to spend time with you.” A serious look crossed her face, looking so much like their birth mother. Nico didn’t have that big of a problem with going outside, it was just he knew his friends had other people to hang out with and of course the Percy situation. Jason and Reyna were pretty popular, and Will had just gotten into a relationship and it seemed to be getting serious. 

Then again, Will was the type of person to pull Nico along anyway.

“You need spend time with your friends and get out of the house. I worry that you’re getting anti-social.” His sister said suddenly. Nico just laughed as he poured his cereal, “Please. I try to be antisocial but no one allows me to.”

“Nico don’t make me slap you.” Bianca stood up from the table, “be out by noon or I’ll throw you out your window.” Nico smiled at his sister’s retreating form. Yes, she could be annoying, but he wouldn’t change her for anything. When she was out of sight, he grabbed the food and went upstairs. 

 

Percy was playing with the faucet once Nico got back to the bathroom. “What is this thing?” He knocked his knuckles on the side and then stuck his finger inside it. “Don’t do that. It can bite.” Nico laughed when Percy jerked his fingers back. “I got you some shrimp. It’s not much but if you’re still hungry afterward I can get you something else.” Percy opened the container to peer inside at the food. “No this is good. Thanks.”

Nico started on his cereal and checked his phone. ‘Meet us at 2 for pizza’ from Will. “Us” most likely meant him and Connor. “What’s that?” Percy pointed at Nico’s phone. Nico showed the black screen in his direction, “my phone.” The merman’s eyebrows scrunched together, Nico elaborated: “I use it to call people.”

“You need something to call people?” Percy asked with an astonished tone. Nico nodded, “yeah. Don’t you use seashells or something?” He said it as a joke, but Percy still looked at him like he was stupid. “No of course not! We just talk to each other. It’s like echolocation, but in our mind.”

Nico narrowed his eyes at the boy, but Percy didn’t explain what he meant. He just finished off his shrimp and started playing with the soap. Nico wondered how soft the boy’s hair might be, then scolded himself for that thought. He looked away and sent a text to Will: ‘Do I have to?’

“If I buy you pizza, you better be there to eat it” was his response. Nico rolled his eyes, ‘Don’t buy me anything, I have my own money.’

Nico looked back up at the beautiful boy in the bathtub and really wished he could stay home with him. “Hey, I might have to leave the house soon. Do you need anything?”

“Can you get me some fresh water and some seashells, please? You promised.” Percy reminded him. A grin broke out across his face when Nico nodded to confirm. “Yeah I’ll go get that. Stay here and be quiet.”

“You say that like I have a choice,” Percy said with longing as Nico closed the door.

…

Nico picked the prettiest shells he could find and two buckets of water. He even got some seaweed that was floating around the surface. It all made Percy really happy when he returned to decorate the tub.

"I need to check your wound," Nico said after he changed out Percy's water. "You're not going to spray it again are you?" Percy covered his arm protectively. Nico shook his head, "No I just need to check it and change the bandage." Percy let Nico pull it off.

Nico braced himself as he pulled off the bandage, but what used to be a deep gash was now just a thin cut. "Wow, it looks so much better. I didn’t know you can heal extra fast too.” Percy opened his mouth to respond, but he stopped as his eyes flicked up at Nico. “I… yeah. We heal fast.”

Nico frowned at Percy’s look but brushed it off to avoid an awkward pause. (A trick he learned from Jason) "I guess it was stupid to think that." 

Percy laughed, "yeah. But it's fine. I thought humans were better swimmers until I saw you guys flapping around at the beach." Nico had to smile at that, "it's hard to swim without fins so excuse us."

Nico finished off the bandage and checked his phone for the time. “Um, I have to go. I won’t stay out long.” Percy looked actually sad as Nico stood up to leave. It made him think over leaving again. “I’m sorry, I have to meet a friend. I’ll be back in two hours tops.”

Percy nodded slowly and grabbed his little duck, “Have fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the 5-month wait on this. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. 
> 
> Please give me feedback, it helps me get better. Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4

“You asshole!” Will laughed at Conner, who stole all his pepperoni off his boyfriend’s pizza when he wasn’t looking. Conner grinned and showed off the stack of toppings, “you need to pay better attention.”

“Yeah Will, he took those right from under your nose,” Nico added from across the small table. His best friend shook his head, “this guy can clear a high-end jewelry store and no one would notice until it’s too late. And give me back my pepperoni.”

Nico finished off his second piece of pizza. He tried his best to stay focused on the conversation, but the look on Percy’s face when he walked out clung to his mind. The poor guy was stuck in that bathtub, which was a huge downgrade from the ocean. Guilt rose in Nico’s throat. Guilt for shoving that beautiful boy in his bathroom, and guilt for leaving him.

“Yo Nico!” Connor nearly shouted in his laughter with Will, “Earth to Nico!” Nico looked at him and straightened in his chair. “Sorry what?”

“Would you like to come over to my place for a movie?” Will asked, apparently for the second time without Nico hearing. “Um, I don’t know. I have to get home soon.” The Stoll brother shrugged and wrapped his arm around Will’s shoulders, “I guess it’s just the two of us then.” Will however, just narrowed his eyes at Nico.

The three teens cleared the table and headed out the door. Will caught Nico by the arm before he could walk too far. “what’s going on?” the blonde asked, Nico shook his head. “nothing’s wrong. I’m just tired today. I’ll text you later.”

Will barely seemed satisfied. “Let’s do something tomorrow. It can be just the two of us if you want.” Nico rolled his eyes, “I told you, I have no problem with Conner. You two fit together so well it's creepy.” This was true. Nico loved the fact that Will found someone like Connor. Watching them bond over archery and jokes over the semester was borderline adorable. However, it was true at first Nico was worried about becoming the third wheel, but that hadn’t become a problem and showed no signs of becoming one in the future.

Will studied Nico’s face for a moment, then grinned. “you have pizza sauce on your eyebrow.”

….

On the way home, Nico stopped at a small corner store and got some crab meat and a pack of gummy worms. It seemed appropriate to make it up to Percy over leaving him. After all, the guy did seem like the social type, Nico could bet he didn’t enjoy sitting alone in a bathroom for hours on end. He just hoped the merman could have human food.

“Percy,” Nico called as he knocked on the door, “I’m back.” There was movement in the water before Nico had his call answered, “Finally! Get in here. I’m so bored.” Nico opened the door to the small bathroom, “I brought you some stuff. Can you eat human food? Like, candy or cooked fish?” Percy lip quirked “what kind of candy?”

Nico pulled out the pack of gummy worms. “These are gummy candy shaped as worms. I used to love them and I thought maybe you would like to try it. If not, I have some crab for you.” Nico held up the bag with the meat inside. Percy’s eyebrows furrowed as he took the bag from Nico’s other hand. “I’ll try it.” He tore open the bag and bit into one of the blue worms. His eyebrows shot up into his hair, “this is so good!”

Nico sighed and sat on the toilet seat. “Do you have candy underwater?” he asked. Percy swallowed a worm whole before answering, “we have Cultured Seaweed. And crab is considered a sweet food.”

“How the hell do you culture seaweed?” The look on Nico’s face as he asked the question made Percy laugh. “you need to come to my place. You’ll learn a lot.” Nico looked down at the bag of crab, trying to hide the creeping smile at the sound of Percy’s laugh reverberating from the walls.

Percy decided at one point to share his candy with Nico and they talked for a while as they polished off the food. “So what do you do in this thing?” Percy asked after coming down on a laughing high. “What? You mean the bathtub? We bathe in it.”

Percy snorted, “bathe?” Nico had loosened up so much in an hour of goofing off with Percy that he asked: “Yeah. Would you like a human bath? You smell like a fish anyway, you could benefit from it.”

Percy glared, but the smile didn’t leave his face. “Sure, I do love your rosy sent.” Nico almost laughed at that. “I’ll freshen the water first. Remove your seashells.” Nico emptied the tub and got out a bottle of bubble bath he rarely used. “Do you like bubbles?” Nico asked as he showed the bottle to Percy. Percy laughed, “the good kind or the bad kind?”

That time Nico really did smile at the childish humor. “This is what we call a bubble bath. It’s a way of using soap with little effort.” Nico explained. He started the water again and squeezed some soap out into the running stream. As the soap foamed in the moving water, Percy nearly screeched with surprise. His tail flapped in the water, splashing Nico right in the face with soap and water. Nico quickly pulled away the bottle. “What’s wrong?”

“What is that!” Percy yelled. Nico shushed him before any of his family heard the screaming mermaid in his bedroom. “It’s soap. Harmless, just don't eat it.” Nico cupped a hand under the bubbles and brought the handful closer to Percy. “Touch it.”

He hesitated, but Percy poked his finger through the foamy soap and watched the bubbles pop. He scooped his hand in place of Nico’s to take the soap for himself to play with. Nico watched him squish the bubbles through his fingers, making sure Percy was calm before turning the water back on.

When the tub filled half way, Nico turned it off and got a bathing loofah. “Take this and fill it with soap,” he instructed. Unfortunately, Percy mistaken sponge for something else, and tore a piece off with his teeth before Nico could stop him. “No No! Don't eat it! Just dip it in the water.” Percy cringed from the taste of the loofah and dipped it in the water, “what is this?”

“It’s a loofah. You use it to clean yourself. I never use them, but Persephone makes sure we three have them.” Nico answered. Percy studied the loofah before loading it with soap. As Percy washed his chest, Nico’s eyes drifted to Percy’s tail. He tried not to focus on it too much, but he could see the green shimmering scales through the water, and couldn’t help but study the structure of it. The tail slimmed from waist-size at Percy’s hips, to the size of his splayed hand in the ankle area. His fins, translucent with green membrane, were displayed against the wall of the tub up over the faucet. They had to be almost a yard wide from tip to tip. It was majestic, Nico couldn’t look away.

“Am I doing it right?” Percy asked, jarring Nico out of his thoughts. He nodded, “perfect.”

Percy’s eyes narrowed slightly at the look on Nico’s face. “What’s wrong?” Nico sat up straighter, “nothing. Just waiting for you to finish.” Percy looked down at the bubbled water, then smirked, “you were staring at my tail.”

Nico’s face warmed. There was no sense in hiding it. “Yeah I was. Forgive me but I’ve never seen one before.” Percy shrugged, “I know. I’m not mad. You can touch it if you want.” Nico stopped short at the offer, “really?”

“Yeah. Usually I wouldn’t, but you let me see your feet, remember? Here,” Percy shifted down to move his middle up. His hips, where the tan human skin turned green and scaly, were raised on the surface of the water, collecting a thin layer of bubbles. Nico clinched his fingers in hesitation. Was there a place inappropriate to touch a mermaid?

Regardless, Nico reached out and laid two fingers on the middle of Percy’s fishtail. A little slimy, he thought, but it felt just like the scales of a slick fish straight from the water. Nico dragged his fingers lightly down towards where the shins would be, Percy shivered. “Our tails are sensitive,” he clarified to Nico’s quizzical expression. Nico nodded once to cover the hitch in his breath. He leaned back to the toilet and sighed casually, like the look on the other boy’s face didn’t make his chest tighten.

“So,” Percy cleared his throat, “how did it feel?”

“Like a fish,” Nico responded simply. Percy laughed, the sound quietly echoing off the tiled walls.

…

After Nico had drained the bubbles and replaced the water, he made sure Percy was comfortable before going to bed. Nico slept in the next morning until eleven, crawling out of bed and fixing his rat's nest before opening the bathroom door to check on Percy.

However, Percy wasn't in the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I know. I should have had something actually happen in Chapter 3 if chapter 4 was just going to be a 1500 word part with a cliffhanger. But, I’ve already taken up a month for this chapter and this is what I have. I hope you liked it over my ignorance of writing a good story.
> 
> (Also, I hate the voice my writing as made for these characters. It irks me so much. I'm going to work on that.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5

Nico’s POV 

Panic spiked through Nico in a ragged breath. Water was everywhere, splashed on the floor all around the tub. A trail of small puddles that later turned into footprints led out into the carpet of his bedroom. He was about to say something out loud in shock when his closet door opened. Percy peaked his head around the door and grinned at him. Surprise and relief flooded Nico so fast that it nearly knocked the early morning pee right out of him. 

“Your mother came in here not too long ago,” Percy said, his voice in a soft tone. “I thought I should hide.” 

Nico could only stare at the boy, now standing- standing- in his room. He only looked away once Percy stepped out in the open to show he has yet to put on clothes. Nico swallowed down the heat rising in his face as he looked at the floor to the right of him. “How?” 

Nico could practically hear the grin in Percy’s voice as he explained. “I wanted to walk. I hate that bathtub, and my dad said since I’m here, I could change as long as I’m careful.” When Nico didn’t reply straight away, Percy continued on. “I’ve heard of merpeople changing their tails into legs before, my best friend Grover does it all the time to explore little islands on trips all the time. But my parents are a little on the protective side, and I’ve never had the opportunity to try it out.” 

Nico bit his tongue before saying, “would you like some clothes?” Maybe it was slightly rude, but Nico couldn’t focus on anything else except Percy’s naked body in the middle of his bedroom. The guy didn’t seem to realize he naked at all. Like it didn’t bother him to be completely exposed to another person. But it did bother Nico. Of course, under different circumstances, Nico would happily gaze at the other male. He was beautiful, and sinfully pleasing in more ways than one. 

Nico squeezed the thoughts out of his head. 

“Um, yes please,” Percy said, biting his inner lip like he just now remembered he was naked. Nico quickly walked around him to the closet and picked out loose-fitted boxers, shirt and shorts. As he did so, he tried his best to make it painfully obvious he wasn’t looking at Percy’s nakedness. *'See? I’m not looking! I’m totally not looking at your toned, tan body and proudly showcased parts!'* 

“Here,” Nico handed Percy the clothes, keeping his eyes above the shoulders as he looked at him. ‘He’s taller,’ Nico thought. Percy had at least three inches on him. And for the first time, Percy’s hair was completely dry. It looked disheveled, a black, soft mess on his head. Nico exhaled a little too sharply. The messy look on hot guys has always been Nico’s weakness. Percy offered a small smile in thanks, his green eyes shone with leashed excitement. 

“You can change in the closet if you like,” Nico said after a moment to collect himself. He quickly grabbed a shirt and shorts from a rack in his closet. “I need to mop up the bathroom.” Percy’s expression changed as he remembered the mess he’d made. “Oh I’m sorry about that. I’ll clean it-”

“No no, it’s fine. I got it.” Nico moved quickly into the bathroom and closed the door. In the first time in days, Nico was able to use his own bathroom privately again. He dried up the water Percy left on the floor and freshened himself up with clean clothes and brushed teeth. 

Percy was sitting off the end of Nico’s unmade bed when he came back out. Surprisingly, Nico’s clothes fit him well. With the rock band t-shirt and tan shorts, he looked almost like an ordinary teenage boy. But Nico could still see the mermaid-ness of him. The majestic sea-green eyes and perfect posture, the way his legs didn’t just dangle off the bed, the aura around him that radiated confidence and power. The boy was just unworldly, and Nico’s stomach butterflies were living for it. 

“So, what’s for breakfast?” Percy asked after an awkward moment of Nico just staring at him. Nico folded his arms self-consciously, “well, my family is downstairs, and they don’t know you're here so you can’t just walk out of my bedroom.” Percy’s shoulders slouched just slightly, “oh” 

He needed to get Percy out of the house as soon as possible. Anyone could just walk in at any given time, and that just gave Nico anxiety. “Look, I’ll sneak you out the back door. You have to be quiet though.” Nico grabbed an extra pair of shoes from the closet and tossed them close to Percy’s bare feet. “But what about breakfast?” 

Nico rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help it, always thinking about food was one of the things he found so endearing about guys. “We’ll something. Put on the shoes, hurry!” Nico shoved on his own pair, slowly though, so Percy could copy him. He momentarily forgot about Percy only having feet for the first time in his life that morning. “Follow me.”

Nico lead Percy out to the hallway and down the stairs. Luckily, Nico’s prayers of a nonconfrontational journey to the back door were answered, though he did almost have a heart attack when Percy accidentally kicked a side table in the living room. 

“Stay out here. I’ll be out in a minute, don’t talk to anyone.” Nico instructed once Percy was outside. He pulled the door shut and took a deep breath for the first time that morning. Human Percy brought on a whole new string of emotions to Nico. And he wasn’t quite sure what to do about them yet. 

Nico got out his phone, pretending it text someone as he walked into the kitchen where everyone was. “Good morning Nico. Would you like some something to eat?” Persephone was sitting alone at the kitchen table, looking over the paper while eating a sandwich. Nico looked up from his phone, “I’m meeting Will for breakfast. Thank you, though.” 

She laugh, “Pretty late for breakfast, don’t you think? How long will you do out?” 

“Probably the whole day. We’re meeting up with Jason and Connor later to see a movie.” Even though it didn’t practically bother Nico lying, he still hated lying to his family. Persephone took a sip of her drink, “Be careful, and be back by dinner.” Nico gave her a little salute and was out the door. 

Percy was standing exactly where Nico had left him, though he had a feeling it wasn’t because Percy followed directions, but because of the loud, unfamiliar world he was faced with. The merman was looking out towards the beach, a slight frown on his face. 

"It looks different from here,” Percy said quietly. Nico studied the longing look in Percy’s eyes before following his gaze to the ocean. It looked like it always had to Nico, a blue-gray sea and a large stretch of white sand full of people. However, based on the way Percy was looking at it, you would think it was a grand castle reduced to rubble. 

Nico startled when Percy suddenly sprang into a walk, his question carried in the warm air past him. “Where are we going?”

Nico started walking as well to fall in step with the mermaid. “Well, would you like to try some American breakfast food? Or we can get fish. It’s up to you.” Percy answered as soon as Nico finished his sentence, “I want to try new things. Besides, I’m not really keen on how humans prepare fish.” 

Nico thought of the perfect place that was only a few blocks from his house. On the walk there, Percy pointed at everything he saw that looked strange to him (which was everything). Nico actually found it amusing, watching the boy’s facial expressions react to human culture. It got worse when they arrived at the restaurant since Percy knew none of the food. “What are eggs?” “What’s a muffin?” “What is a hash?” 

Eventually, Nico ordered him some blueberry pancakes and bacon just to settle the matter. 

“This place is so… small.” Percy observed. It was a little 24-hour breakfast diner, packed with vacationers, and one of the older-looking buildings in Nico’s tourist town. It was decorated with fishnets and fake starfish, with wooden walls and tables. “Yeah, but the food is good. And if you don’t like what they serve, they’ll refund you.”

Percy nodded and looked down at the table in front of him. He picked up his little bundle of silverware wrapped in a napkin and started picking at it. “Do you come here often?” 

Nico watched Percy pick his napkin into a pile of white fuzz. “Not really. I usually eat breakfast at home. Unless Will wants to meet up early on the weekends. But he only does that to annoy me.” Percy frowned and looked at Nico from across the wooden table, “Will?”

Nico was about to explain who Will was when the waitress came around with their food. The second Percy laid eyes on his pancakes, Nico knew he made the right food choice.

It took awhile, but Nico finally convinced Percy at he was using the silverware the wrong way. “No, no, no!” Nico said through fits of laughter. “Turn it the other way! That’s the handle.” When Percy saw Nico demonstrate how to properly use a knife, he laughed too. He laughed so hard in fact, that he got syrup on his fingers. “Ew, sticky.” 

 

After breakfast, Percy seemed to make a beeline for the beach. The soft sand sank with their footsteps as they walk towards the sea. The wind rippled through Percy’s black hair, his stare was transfixed on the waves. Nico shuffled on his feet, “you can go back anytime you want, you know.” 

Percy looked over at him, “I know. I’m not ready to go back yet, there’s too much to do here.” The expression on Percy’s face as he said this made Nico look away to the sea. To interrupt the bursting tightness in his chest, Nico said “let’s build a sand castle. I bet you’re good at those.” 

Percy scoffed, “I live underwater. We can play in the sand, but it doesn’t stick together or mold well. I’ve always wanted to make one though…” The corners of Nico’s mouth twitched, “okay then. Let’s go buy some buckets.” He led Percy to a little shop nearby that sold sand pails and other beach necessities. Percy shivered when he saw the dried starfish, so Nico got him out as soon as he could. 

“This is the perfect spot. Not too close to the current, not too much grass.” Nico dug the tip of his shoe into the sand, setting the buckets down. Percy sat beside him to start filling the blue plastic bucket. 

“How big is it going to be?” Nico asked as he mixed the dry sand with wet sand for better molding. Percy looked up, “It needs to be big. That kid over there is giving me the evil eye.” 

Nico looked up and followed Percy’s gaze to a 10-year-old girl, who’s also building a sand castle with some friends a few feet away. “Well then, I guess we have some competition.” 

Nico had been building sand castles since he moved to the beach a couple years ago. He thought he was good at it, but no. Percy might’ve not been able to make one underwater, but he still had the skills necessary to balance and build sand in a way Nico had never seen before. When they were done, the sand structure was two feet wide and two feet tall. The kids stood no chance, their castle collapsed after a few buckets of sand. 

“Should we decorate it?” Percy asked, stepping back to look at his masterpiece. Nico recovered from his shock. It was a lot bigger and grander than he expected. “You can if you want. Some shells wouldn’t hurt.” Percy draped some seaweed around the towers to look like grass, and added some seashells here and there. 

“Nice, it looks great,” Nico said after the castle was complete. “Thanks. You have sand on your cheek,” Percy reached and dusted Nico’s cheek clean, Nico flinched away. Percy yanked his hand back, his face turned red and looked away, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Nico immediately felt bad, “it’s okay.”

Nico kept his gaze down, and Percy didn’t look at him. He kept trying to think of something to say to smooth over the incident, but all he could think about was the feel of Percy’s skin against his, and why Percy did that in the first place. 

“Let’s go shop around. I know you would like to see the town, and I want you to have a souvenir to take back home with you.” 

It took a minute, but Percy did nod, but didn’t look at him. Nico hesitated, but placed a light hand on Percy’s upper arm. At that, Percy did look at him, and Nico couldn’t breathe for a second. “Come on, we’ll go wherever you want.”

………………………………………………….

“Here. Change into these.” Nico handed Percy a pile of clean clothes for bed. Percy took them with one hand while he held up his towel around his waist with his other. His hair was dripping from his bath, but the rest of him was now dried to prevent a tail forming back. Nico turned to walk quickly to his closet, making sure to not look at the other boy. 

After walking around the beach and exploring different stores in the area, Nico had to bring Percy back home before dinner. He made sure to feed Percy first, then snuck him up to his room when his father wasn’t looking. It was funny, Nico has always dreamed of sneaking a hot guy up to his room. But he didn’t share that thought with Percy. 

Now, being after dinner and getting Percy bathed, Nico was trying to gather blankets out from his closet. He was pulling out a third when he heard Percy behind him. “Can I help?” 

Nico jumped and dropped the blankets to the floor. Percy backed in surprise, Nico laughed. “Sorry, you scared me,” he picked up the blanket. Percy was now dressed, boxer shorts and a tee-shirt, and he was looking at the pile of blankets on the floor. “What are you doing?”

“Making myself a bed on the floor. You can have my bed, since you’ve stayed in a bathtub for three days.” Nico picked up the blankets and moved them to a better spot under the window. 

Ever since the beach, Percy has kept his distance from Nico. Nico tried to think it was just embarrassment, but he couldn’t help but blame himself or fear Percy would never try to touch him again. Maybe he didn’t like physical contact, but part of him wanted to touch Percy too. 

“I don’t want to take your bed, it’s yours. I’ll sleep on the floor, I don’t mind.” Percy came up to stand a few feet away from where Nico was spreading out the biggest, thickest blanket. “No no, you can take the bed. It’s no problem.” 

Percy was quiet while Nico put together his makeshift bed. “Look,” Percy started once Nico was done, “I’m sorry about what happened on the beach. I should have asked first before doing that-“

“Percy, it’s okay. I’m not… used to people touching me and I reacted on impulse. You did nothing wrong.” Nico crossed his arms just to have something to do with them. Percy looked out the window, then looked back to lock eyes with him. “So, you’re saying if I wanted to do it again… you would let me?”

Nico found it hard to breathe as he formed (hopefully) a casual expression “…why would you want to touch me again?”

Percy pursed his lips, “because… you might have sand on your face again.” 

Nico nearly laughed, “as long as I know you’re about to do it… I guess… I don’t mind.” He squeezed his own upper arms hard, and Percy noticed the movement. He walked closer, “I won’t touch you without your permission, and if it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t do it at all.” 

“It’s okay Percy,” ‘I like it’ he added mentally. Percy must have read the thought through his eyes, because he relaxed a great deal. Nico hardened his expression again and moved away for some pillows. 

After they were both settled, Percy in the bed and Nico on the floor, the room was quiet. Nico heard rustling from the bed as Percy rolled over and leaned to look at Nico. “Is it comfortable?” Nico asked. Percy adjusted himself once again before answering, “yeah. It’s not like what we have at home, though.”

Nico pulled the blanket up over his shoulder, “so you’re not in a hurry to get back? You can stay as long as you want.” Percy looked over at the wall, “I don’t know. My dad will want me back soon, but I think I want to stay for a while.” 

Nico rolled on his back, “we should get some sleep. We need to wake up before the rest of the house.” But when Nico looked back over at the bed, Percy was already drifting off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know of any mistakes and tell me what you think so far.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6

Percy’s POV

Percy’s back and neck ached when he woke up. The mattress was comfortable, but it took some getting used to. At the end of the day, it was way better than that damn tub.

Nico was still asleep on the floor, his dark hair parted to the side after rolling over, his arm draped off to the carpet. Percy’s gaze studied Nico’s face, the curve of his nose, the dark eyelashes resting on his cheeks, the soft pink of his lips. The fluttering feeling came back up to his throat and he had to look away.

Instead, Percy looked out the window to the Pacific. He thought of his mom and dad, Grover, Annabeth, Tyson. Homesickness stuck him hard, for a moment he yearned to go back. Then he looked down at Nico and the feeling was gone. He could always go back home, but Nico was here. Now that he had legs, he wasn’t going anywhere for a while if he can help it.

A soft sigh broke through the quiet room. Nico stretched his arms out over his head and opened his eyes. Percy smiled at him, “finally.”

Nico sat up and stretched again, “sorry,” he yawned. Percy couldn’t help but smile a little at Nico’s messy hair. “I’m hungry.”

“We’ll get something, but I’ll have to eat with my family this morning.” Nico looked at him before continuing, “it’ll avoid suspicion, but I’ll feed you right after, I swear.”

Percy laughed, “you say that as if you had a choice.” He felt a bolt of triumph as the corners of Nico’s mouth rose. He opened his mouth, no doubt to make a snappy comeback, when a buzz rang against the wood of the dresser. They both looked over to see Nico’s phone where it rested to charge overnight.

“Hand me that, please,” Nico reached out his hand for his phone. Percy thought the little device was strange. It felt foreign to his hand as he grabbed it and handed it over. Nico took it and read the message on the screen. “Will wants to meet later. Do you like smoothies?”

“Umm, yes?” Percy wasn’t sure what a ‘smoothie’ was, but at this point, he was used to being confused by the human world. Nico raised an eyebrow and nodded once, a sign that he also knew Percy didn’t know what a smoothie was. He typed a message on the screen and put the phone down beside him. “Go ahead and get ready while I’m downstairs. It won’t take me long.”

Percy watched Nico run his fingers through his hair and walk out the bedroom door. He stared at the knob for a while after it shut, lost for what he’s supposed to do without his host there to guide him. Nico wasn’t the cleanest, although the room was often cleaner than Percy’s room at home. He had a pile of clothes in the corner and random shoes tossed on the floor. The clump of blankets covered a large floor space, and objects littered the dresser and desk.

It was strangely endearing to see that Nico was as messy as he was. Although, at the same time, it made his room harder to navigate. He went to the closet first, digging around to find clothes that fit him and that didn’t make him look like an outsider. A white and red tee shirt that said “Sunset With Pickles” satisfied the job requirements in Percy’s eyes.

Wearing clothes was a weird sensation. He owned some, but never wore any. His friends also owned a couple just in case they go up out of water, and his father had a favorite hawaiian shirt. He claims it goes good with his trident, but Percy just thinks it makes him look like a big goof.

After getting dressed, Percy tried to contact his mom. The connection picked right away, like a string deep in him being pulled from the other end. “Percy are you okay?”

Percy’s heart leaped at the sound of his mother’s voice. “yeah I’m fine. I just wanted to check in. How is everyone?”

“We’re good. Tyson’s been working hard with your dad. When are you coming home?” Her question echoed nicely in his head. “I don’t know. I like it here, I would like to explore for a little while longer before coming back.”

A distant shock of worry ran through their connection. “Please be careful. Remember to not get your legs wet and don’t trust anyone.” Too late, Percy thought as Nico came to mind. He couldn’t help but trust the first human who has saved his life. Percy forgot he was talking to his mother during this string of thoughts, his mind was being shared- emotions and everything. “Percy, don’t feelings cloud your wits.”

“I’m not, I trust him mom. He helped heal me and lets me wear his underwear. I’m not sure how deep that runs but I’m pretty sure you don’t just give those things out to anyone.”

His mother sent a sigh down the tether. “Just be careful Percy. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Percy felt his mom go, leaving him feeling empty. Hearing his mother’s voice just amplified his homesickness. He had to once again remind himself that he will return home when he's ready and right now he's just exploring. But it was who he was exploring with that got the feeling to finally dissipate.

Nico then came in through the door and made sure it was fully shut before speaking. “Okay, My sisters are going out for the day and my step-mom is doing work in her office. That just leaves my dad who will be watching TV for a few hours before going to meet some friends. My guess is they won't be back until dinner time although that is a rough estimate.” He said all of this in a quiet voice just above a whisper. Percy remembered a time when he and Grover once had a sleepover. When they were supposed to be sleeping, but instead were up late into the night and even know they knew that his parents were still sleeping across the castle, they still stayed quiet out of simple paranoia.

“So... we can go get food now?” Percy asked with raised eyebrows. Nico looked at him like he just barked like a dog. “Yes, but again, we have to be quiet.”

Percy again had to wait out in the back while Nico went out through the front door after saying goodbye to his family. He didn't see much of how these tactics were Supposed to be helping, but he had to admit that he admired the amount of work Nico was putting into this. The guy must have done some sketchy stuff in the past behind his parents back. Percy wanted to laugh at that, because it was obvious he had.

Nico took him to a new restaurant to try different breakfast options, but all Percy was interested in was the blueberry pancakes. He was, however, willing to try other side items like hash browns and eggs.

Chocolate milk: meh

Orange juice: good

Eggs: good

Hash browns: on occasion

Percy enjoyed trying many different foods. He was forming a list in his head of things that he liked and he didn't like, but by far the blueberry pancakes were his favorite.

“Let’s go meet Will. If you like Blueberries so much, then maybe you would like a blueberry smoothie?” They were walking down the street, passing hotels and stores as they made their way to the smoothie place. Percy was still very full from breakfast, but he was really curious what a smoothie was and didn’t want to pass up the chance to try it in blueberry.

“You need a cover story,” Nico said suddenly. Percy furrowed his eyebrows, “what do you mean?” Nico stopped walking in the middle of the empty sidewalk. “ I mean you can't just tell him you’re from the ocean.”

Percy hadn't thought about a backup story. He just thought if he was ever in a tight situation he could just run back into the ocean. But if a bad situation can be avoided, he was all ears. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, it is the summer. It is fully believable to say that you are on vacation. Just say that you are from New York or something. That you are here for a few weeks with your family.”

Percy tossed this around. “I'm fine with that. He won't ask for proof will he?” Percy has lied before when it was necessary and had no problem doing it now. But humans were weird. He didn't know how they would respond or how careful they were. Thankfully Nico shook his head. “Of course not. He will take your word for it.”

They had started walking again, and had arrived at the smoothie place in no time. “Nico!” A blond guy yelled and waved. He was sitting at an outside table alone with a green drink in front of him. Percy was shocked to see how good looking the guy was. Lose blond hair and blue eyes, freckles and a tan. His smile was warm and friendly, and he looked at Nico with a welcoming expression. Percy hated him immediately.

Nico led Percy over to the table, which was when Will caught sight of Percy. His blond eyebrows rose and he looked at Nico with a question Percy couldn’t read. Suddenly, Percy didn’t want to be there. He obviously wasn’t invited and was invading on a smoothie date. Anger and embarrassment heated his skin in the already hot summer air.

“Hey, who’s your friend?” the blond guy asked. Nico looked over his shoulder at Percy and readjusted his stance to include him in the conversation. “This is Percy Jackson. I met him on the beach yesterday.”

“Hi,” Percy sounded like a machine in his greeting. Emotionless.

“Hey, I’m Will. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard a lot about me already since I’m Nico favorite human being, right Nico?” Will wrapped his arm around Nico’s neck with a playful grin on his face. Nico pushed him away lightly, “yeah yeah, whatever.”

Percy’s chest caved, but he ignored it the best he could. Nico shoved his phone in his back pocket and turned to Will. “We’ll be back in a minute.” Will nodded and sat back in his chair, “hurry shorty.”

Nico held up the middle finger as he started walking towards the front door. The cool air of the building was appreciated, it’d almost blown away all of the sickly feeling down Percy’s spine. But sadly, it seemed to rest in his stomach, an unwanted burden.

“Blueberry right?” Nico’s eyes were on the menu. “Yeah I guess.” Percy almost cringed at the sound of his tone. It caught Nico’s attention that time, snapping his gaze to look at Percy. “Are you okay?”

Percy straightened, “yeah I’m fine. Just… hot.” Cringy pause. He had to snap out of this before he ruined everything. “It’s really hot outside.” Nico stared at him for a minute longer, “the drink will cool you down. Or we can sit inside if you want.”

“No no, it’s fine. I feel better now.” Percy crossed his arms and looked around the wide place. It was mainly green and silver with big windows and tables everywhere. Nico ordered for the two of them as Percy hung back to analyze the restaurant. Or at least look like he was. His mind was pretty occupied with other issues.

Once they both had their drinks, they walked back out to join Will at the table. Percy tried his smoothie, but didn’t focus on the flavor.

“So Percy, are you new around here?” Will asked from across the table. Percy raised his chin, just in case he was slouching. “No, I’m from New York. We’re on vacation for a few weeks.”

Will’s eye connected with Nico’s, sending yet another silent message. Jerk. Percy thought, then felt bad about it. He didn’t know Will, he should make an effort at least. “Where do you live?”

Will took another sip from his seaweed colored drink, “A few blocks down the road. Little neighborhood by a boating dock.”

“You make it sound nice. You live in the middle of nowhere.” Nico said. It was joke, although it didn’t sound like one. You learn quickly that Nico sounds meaner than he actually is. Will laughed, “yeah, true. But at least I don’t live on the beach. It sounds nice for a little while, but overall that must be a nightmare.” Nico weighted this, then shrugged. “Can’t argue there.”

Percy sat mostly quiet for the rest of the hour. Every time they would playfully push each other or gripe together on something, Percy would be reminded that he’s not that close to Nico as Will is. Nor will he ever be. He belongs in the ocean, not land. And more than anything, he wanted to be there instead of at that table.

“Well, I got to go. Nice meeting you Percy. I hope we can meet again before you leave.” Will got up, taking his empty cup with him. Percy put on a smile, “me too.”

Will patted Nico’s shoulder on his way around, “remember to text me back, hermit.” Nico swatted at him, then watched him leave. He sighed and tapped his empty cup on the table, “what would you like to do now?”

Percy opened his mouth to answer the question, but a question of his own came out instead. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend?” Nico froze, looking at him as if Percy slapped him. “Because I don’t.” Percy narrowed his eyes, “so you’re that flirtatious with all your friends?”

Nico’s eyebrows rose, “flirtatious? What the hell are you talking about?” The tone in his voice was so tense and dangerous, Percy almost kept his mouth shut. “I’m talking about Will. You brought me along to just watch you two flirt with each other for an hour.”

Nico sat back, eyes on the table in front of him, his lips parted. “First of all,” his voice was quiet, Percy knew he messed up immediately. “I was not flirting with him. Will has been my best friend for years, we’ve always been like that, and he has his own boyfriend. Second, I brought you here because Will wanted to get something to drink. You just tagged along because you have nothing better to do.”

Percy inhaled sharply. His throat closed up on him. Nico also looked shocked by what he said, but he wasn’t taking it back.

Percy swallowed, “well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

With that, he got up and walked away. Leaving his barely touched cup on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year and my main goal is to finish this story. If things go to plan, updates will be quicker from now on! (Thank goodness) 
> 
> Feedback please! The writing's a little shot but like I said: it's NaNoWriMo. But how's the story?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7

Nico’s POV

It’s almost dinner time.

Nico had been wandering around, trying to find Percy, hoping against hope it wasn’t too late. He couldn’t believe what he said back at the smoothie place. Percy just made him so angry and embarrassed, he couldn’t stop himself. Thinking about the time passing and how he could’ve already swum away as Nico sat at that table was killing him, but it was the anger of what Percy accused him of that kept him there.

But now, several hours later, Nico was kicking himself for letting Percy go. He couldn’t deny it anymore: he was falling for the merman. Falling hard, and he insulted him before letting him walk away. He couldn’t blame Percy if he never wanted to talk to him again if he’s still even on land.

Nico’s eyes scanned the beach again, which was now almost completely empty. Percy was nowhere to be found. Nico’s heart sunk so low he no longer felt it. He was gone. Gone, and it was his fault.

Nico’s knees wobbled so hard he had to sit on the sand. How did everything go so wrong so quickly? With his head in his hands, he sat there and cursed himself to hell. He couldn’t even apologize, which just made the whole thing worse.

After a while, Nico stood up and dusted the sand from his pants. How could he, how could he let that happen? He brought Percy there and almost completely ignored him the whole time, just to insult him after Will left. I’m such a terrible person, he thought over and over. He walked past his house and down to the rocky ledge. It was his favorite spot before he found Percy, but at the moment, it was just a place for him to sit and sulk. The last place he wanted to be at anyway was his room.

Nico had only made it over the first rock when he noticed Percy sitting down at the bottom. He was facing the ocean, salty breeze flowing through his hair. Nico’s heart skipped into a sprint right out of his chest. Hope crashed into him so hard, his breath caught. “Percy!” Nico yelled over the waves without thinking. He was so relieved to see he wasn’t too late that he forgot about the chance Percy wouldn’t forgive him.

Percy stood up and turned to look up where Nico was on the rocks. Fear struck, what if he’s still mad and just jumps in the water? “Percy I’m sorry!” he yelled. He ran the best he could down rocks, checking to make sure Percy was waiting on him. Thankfully, he was still standing there when Nico made it down.

“I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.” Nico babbled off immediately once he was in front of Percy. The waves still crashed against the rocks, but now standing a few feet from each other, Nico no longer had to shout to be heard. Percy glanced down at his feet, the shoes Nico gave him were still on them. “I’m sorry too. I didn’t mean to confront you like that and I have no idea why I did. It’s just… seeing you so relaxed with Will made me… jealous.”

Nico held his breath for a second in a feeble attempt to even out his breathing. “Jealous? Why would you be jealous?”

Percy’s cheeks turned pink as his eyes moved anywhere but to meet Nico’s own. Finally, he did, “because now that I’m human, I thought I had a chance with you.”

Nico could feel his face heating. The warm salty mist cooling his blush. This was like one of those cheesy beach scenes you watch in movies or read in books, but instead of sobering him up, that realization only made him more flustered. “you like me?”

Percy nodded awkwardly. Nico sat on the nearest flat rock, “wow,” he whispered. Percy hesitated but came over to sit right beside him. “That’s not a bad thing, right?”

“No it’s not,” Nico said quietly. The ocean seemed to have calmed for them. It was no longer loud or reckless, but peaceful. “I like you too. Is it… wrong where you live?” Nico noted Percy acted indifferent to him mentioning Will’s boyfriend, but it was always good to see where someone sat with their comforts.

Percy was staring at the sea foam washing up on the sand, “not exactly. My mom seems okay with it… but fish are not attracted to the same sex. And I’ve never had a boyfriend before.” His voice as so quiet, Nico barely heard him. “Have you… had a girlfriend?”

Percy paused, “no, but I’ve been attracted to girls before. Never a guy. No offense, but you confused the hell out of me for the first couple of days.” Nico laughed, “sorry. But if you want to talk about confusing, I had a mermaid in my bathtub.”

“Was it worth it?” Percy asked, turning to look at Nico in the eyes. The sun as setting, making the orange sky reflect off the water. Nico nodded, and Percy kissed him.

Nico has never kissed anyone before, so the first second he was freaked out of what he was supposed to do, so he started moving his lips and hoped for the best. Percy tasted like sea salt, and his lips were cool against Nico’s heated ones. When he pulled away, Nico was surprised to find out he hadn’t been breathing. The kiss was clumsy and unpracticed, but Nico wouldn’t have changed anything about it.

“And by the way, I’m a merman.” Percy corrected, smiling like an idiot.

……

Back at the rocks, Nico kissed Percy again. He couldn’t help it, he was on a joyful high. On the walk home, everything seemed hazy. But the good hazy. Like after you just had the best day of your life and was still recovering. Everything seemed so great in fact, that Nico completely forgot he couldn’t just walk Percy in the front door. Telling by the look on Percy’s face, he forgot as well.

“Nico,” his father greeted with a friendly smile, “who’s this?” Nico shut his mouth and clammed up. He was so, so stupid.

“Uh, I’m Percy. I’m from New York.” Percy took Hades offered a hand. That knocked some sense into Nico. Percy looked like a human, he had a believable story, and his parents loved him making new friends. There was no issue with showing Percy off. “Yeah, I met him yesterday…. I brought him here for dinner. His parents said it was okay.”

Persephone, who was sitting at the kitchen table, frowned. “They just let him go to some random house with people they’ve never met?” Percy started talking before Nico could even get his mouth open. “They’ve met Nico. They like him. And, they want me to make friends. They have a lot of stuff to do with the new house anyway.”

Whoa, story change. Nico wasn’t expecting that. So he just looked on and let Percy handle it, trying to look like he’s heard this all before. Hades nodded, his eyebrows lifted slightly, “okay. Where are you moving to?”

“Not far from here. By the boating dock? It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere compared to actually living on the beach.” 'Holy crap', Nico thought, 'he actually listens to me'.

“Haha! Well, welcome! We’re having pork tonight. Is that okay?” Hades finally smiled, although, on his face, it looked half creepy and half warm. Percy didn’t seem to notice. “Sounds great. Thanks for having me.”

Hades walked back to the kitchen and Nico pulled Percy into the living room. “Wow, you are quite the actor.” Percy’s eyes lit up, “Really? Then maybe that came out better than I thought it did. Your dad’s really nice.”

“Yeah well, wait until you meet my sister Bianca. She’s nice too, don’t get me wrong, but she can be a pain in the neck.” Nico led Percy back out and into the kitchen where Hades and Persephone were setting the table.

Nico went to the refrigerator, “what would you like to drink?” Percy scanned options, “orange juice.” Nico rolled his eyes with a smile. “That orange juice from breakfast stuck with you uh?”

Percy smiled back and helped pour drinks for everyone. Hazel walked into the kitchen and stopped short at the sight of Percy at their table. “Hi, who are you?” Bianca came up behind her.

“I’m Percy. Nico’s… friend.” Percy explained. Nico moved to set some cream corn on the table and stand by Percy. “He’s here for dinner.” Bianca looked at Nico, raised an eyebrow, and shrugged.

Hazel smiled at him, “welcome then. I hope Nico has been nice to you so far.” Bianca snorted, “probably not. He’s a bit of a butt.”

Nico thought to their fight they had and decided to not think about it. Instead, he sent an encouraging look Percy’s way. Percy’s lips quirked a little, “for the most part. His hospitality makes up for it though.”

Bianca sat down on Nico’s other side and laughed, “right. I love you Nico, but you have as much charm as a dead snail.” Nico couldn’t help but laugh as well, “I love you too, but that’s how I prefer it.” Hazel smiled and rolled her eyes.

Persephone and Hades brought the rest of the food over to the table and sat down. “You two must get that from your father,” Persephone observed, glancing over at her husband. Hades smiled as he dumped some corn on his plate, “you know it.”

The food was passed and more jokes were made. Percy sat somewhat awkwardly beside Nico, looking lost. Nico turned to him as his other family members were having a conversation about Hazel’s new boyfriend Frank. “How’s the food, do you like it?”

Percy nodded, “yeah I do. But what is this slimy stuff?” He dipped his fork in the cream corn. Nico explained what cream corn was, along with what pork was. Percy started eating again, now that his questions were answered. Nico thought of the possibility that mermen were more curious creatures than anything else.

Hades turned to Percy, “so what led your family to move across country?” Nico looked at Percy, hoping he will be able to answer these questions without his help. Percy adjusted his posture, another thing mermen must do often. “A change of scenery, I guess. My dad loves the ocean.”

“Where are you from?” Hazel asked since she wasn’t here for when they first came in. “New York, Manhattan.”

“Oh cool,” Bianca said. “I’ve always wanted to go there. It’s nice to know the tourist thing won’t be a problem since you’re used to it.” Percy frowned, but only for a second, “yeah. The tourists don’t bother me much.”

Dinner wrapped up nicely with a playful conversation after Nico managed to get the focus off Percy. They hung out in the living room for a minute before Nico was able to sneak Percy upstairs while telling his family he went back home.

Nico sighed and plopped on his bed, laying across it like he just ran across town. Percy stood by the door, watching him. Nico sat up, about to say something, but decided it was too stupid.

“So um… you can have your bed back tonight.” Percy said. Nico stood up quickly, “no it's yours. It’s no problem.”

Percy stepped closer, flexing his fingers like he was nervous. “Um… I don’t… I don’t know what to make of what happened.” Nico thought the stuttering and nervousness was adorable. It used to be himself in that situation. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve… never liked a guy before and… I really like you.” Percy’s breath knocked out of his lungs on the last word, like he was hit or something. Nico felt bad. Percy was facing all this for the first time and he wasn’t doing much to meet him halfway. On the other hand, Nico wasn’t good at expressing his feelings. He didn’t think he could put them into words anyway.

When Nico got to him, he stood on his tiptoes to make up for the three inches and kissed him right on the lips. Percy inhaled in surprise, then wrapped his arms around Nico to hold him there. Nico’s hands pressed against both of Percy’s cheeks, feeling them heat with a blush. The kiss was still sloppy, but when they separated, they laughed about it.

Percy’s green eyes were bright, a bashful smile lit his face. Nico thought maybe he had a smile on his face too, but his face was too tingly to tell.

“We should… go to sleep…” Percy said slowly like he didn’t want to say those words. Nico felt Percy’s hands on his shoulders heat through his clothes. He snorted, though it didn’t come out as nonchalant as he wanted it to, “yeah… we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hating this passive voice problem. It's one of my writing problems I have solve over time so just hang in there with me please >.<
> 
> How is it so far? Please point out any mistakes and give me feedback on story structure and writing. It matters to me. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8

“Let’s go here,” Percy said, pointing to an Italian restaurant. Percy and Nico have been walking around town for twenty minutes, having a good-natured conversation and trying to figure out what they wanted for lunch. Even though Percy has never been to any other restaurant than what Nico already showed him, Nico allowed Percy to walk around and just pick a place.

“Works for me. They have a wonderful dessert I think you would love.” Nico walked through the door and held it open for Percy. The merman came in, smiling his thanks, and gawked at the place. It was a typical Italian restaurant: a place with a red, green and white color scheme that sold cheap Americanized Italian food. Nico picked a booth by the back wall, “take a seat.”

Percy sat at the table, “what do they have here- other than wonderful dessert?” Nico saw the waitress collect her things and start making her way over. “Lots of things,” he said.

The waitress took their drink orders and handed out menus. Percy chose the classic Spaghetti while Nico went with some stuffed ravioli. Percy took a sip of his coke, a new found favorite apparently. “You have so many options for food it's amazing.”

Nico quirked his lips, watching Percy’s eyes follow the movement. “Does that mean you only eat fish at home?” Percy blinked and looked back up to Nico’s eyes, “yeah. I mean, we eat plants too, but we mostly eat what my dad catches. Which is mainly fish since fishing seems to be his only hobby.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised you even eat fish. You’re half fish right?” Nico hoped that question wasn’t rude, but Percy didn't act bothered. “Way of life. Sharks eat fish, even though they’re fish too. Besides, some fish weirdly find it honorable to be eaten by the ‘King of the Sea’.”

“So it’s monarchy system? When your dad passes, you would be the king?” Nico, even thinking of how majestic Percy is, still couldn’t picture him being a king of anything but bright smiles and blue food. Percy shook his head, “not exactly. No one but my dad will ever be the King of the Ocean.”

Before Nico could ask another question, their food came to the table. Percy asked to poke at Nico’s “mini jellyfish pods” with his fork. Nico just gave Percy a ravioli since the request was too strange for words. In return, Percy gave Nico his bread that came with his meal. After they’ve eaten their split lunches, Nico ordered a piece of double fudge chocolate cake for them to share.

“That was amazing, I love spaghetti. And chocolate for that matter.” Percy held the door for Nico as they left. They started back down towards the beach side, heading for a quiet place Nico wanted to show off. “Not a bad choice for a random pick,” he agreed.

Percy smiled and looked at him, “you have sauce on your nose.” Nico could feel himself blush as Percy’s thumb brushed it off. “Do you always get food on your face?” he asked. Nico sighed, “apparently, yes.”

…

Nico led Percy to the boat dock, a long stretch of wooden planks that ended low in the water.

There were no boats around, no people either. They were alone and sat towards the end of the dock. Percy looked out into the ocean, “hey, you wanna see something cool?” Nico looked at him and watched as he gently laid his hand in the water, resting it on the surface like it was a lily pad. When he removed it, an orange fish was seen right above the water. The fish bobbed his head out a few times as if to say hello, Percy smiled. “he asked for your name.” Nico looked back up to Percy with a look of shock on his face. “you can talk to fish?”

Percy laughed, “of course I can. All merpeople can. You expect us to all live together and not talk to each other?” Nico looked back at the waiting fish. “Nico,” he says hesitantly, just in case Percy was joking with him. The fish’s head bobbed out, pointing towards Percy. His scoffed, and Nico had a feeling that if he didn’t already know Percy was a merman, he would’ve thought Percy was crazy. “what’s he saying.”

“It’s an update about my family.” Percy rolled his eyes with a hint of a soft smile, “and he said he was going to tell my dad about my date.” He looked at the fish, shaking his head, “such a gossip, as always.” The fish bobbed up one more time, faster than the last times, before sticking his fin up out of the water as he turned to swim away. “That was… interesting.” Nico said. Percy smiled sideways at him, “interesting?”

Nico felt his pulse beat hard in his neck, “yeah.” Percy sat back beside Nico and brushed his fingers along the back of Nico’s hand, “I’m glad you find me interesting.” Nico didn’t just find Percy interesting, he was captivating. That word rang through Nico’s head as he leaned over to kiss him. Percy’s fingers slipped into Nico’s and he moved even closer for deeper contact.

Nico could only hear his blood pounding and Percy’s light breathing until movement in the water broke them apart. There was a school of fish, all having their head above the surface, and behind them was a larger sea animal Nico couldn’t name. Percy turned pink, sitting up to glare at the sea creatures. They all swam away as quickly and disappeared. “Sorry about that,” Percy muttered. Nico could only laugh.

…..

“That’s ridiculous,” Nico laughed, clutching his ice cream cup as he walked. Percy was laughing harder than Nico, telling the funny story just riled up the hilariousness of when it first happened. They sat on a park bench in the middle of a roundabout garden, a few blocks from the beach. “The funniest thing about it was my dad started using it has a trademark. ‘Poseidon, god of the sea and bad Hawaiian shirts’.”

Nico laughed again, trying to control it with a spoon full of vanilla ice cream. The few people who were walking around the area them paid no attention, busy with their own lives of vacations and trying to find a store that didn't sell only bathing suits and surfboards. The giddiness of the conversation calmed to a comfortable silence as they worked on their cool treat before it melted in the late June heat.

“Nico… are you okay with dating a half fish?” Percy asked out of nowhere, startling Nico out of his creamy haze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I live in the ocean I grow a tail every time I get wet and I know nothing about this world nor can I explore it for too long without salt water nearby. I’m not human…” Percy smoothed his spoon over his ice cream, not looking at Nico. Nico swallowed and placed his own cup down on the bench beside him. “Percy, I never focused on any of that. I like you for you.”

Percy looked at him, making Nico quiver from seeing his green eye so dark with fear and insecurity. “I’ll never be normal. But I’m willing to try to learn and blend in… I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.”

Nico shook his head, “I’m not asking you to change anything Percy. You don’t have to blend in or anything of the sort. I like you the way you are… please don’t change a damn thing.” Nico added quietly, but his tone grew firm. He wanted to tell Percy he loved him, but he was afraid it was too soon for that- even if it was true.

Percy searched Nico’s face for any lie, but couldn’t find one. He looked back down at his dessert cup, “okay.”

Nico watched him for a moment, then reach out to pull the boy’s face up to his. Their lips locked, sharing a comfortable, reassuring feeling through the kiss. Nico felt Percy’s body relax, his lips grinning, “thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like this chapter is just three scenes of fluff strung together, that's because it is. But this was also what I was going for so... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> Please please please let me know if you see any mistakes and give me honest feedback. I want to know if my writing is getting any better so please tell me if you see any plot holes and what you think in general. Thank you.


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